Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 193 Price Difference
Li Zhe pointed to the butter cookies on the counter and said, "Two boxes of cookies, please." He had bought them once before; they weren't too sweet, had a rich milky flavor, and a crumbly texture—they were delicious.

Li Zhe took the bag from the shop assistant and handed it to his sister. "Here, one box each. Choose whatever you want. You'll regret it once you leave this shop."

Li Na took the bag and stared wide-eyed at a box of candy on the counter: "Brother, what are those colorful candies? They're so pretty."

The waiter picked up a pretty box and introduced it: "These are Swiss gummies, available in various fruit flavors: orange, lemon, strawberry, apple. Each flavor has a different color, and many children love them."

Li Zhe said, "Give me a box."

Looking at the price, Wang Xiuying couldn't help but frown. "Xiao Na, buy less candy. It'll ruin your teeth."

"Brother, the chocolate you bought last time was delicious, I want to eat it again." After saying that, she turned to her mother and said, "Mom, chocolate is not candy."

“It’s sweet too.” Wang Xiuying didn’t buy it.

Li Zhe asked for two more boxes of chocolates, one for his sister and the other for himself.

Wang Xiuying urged, "Let's go explore some other places."

"Okay," Li Zhe replied. The snacks at the Friendship Store were just for trying out; apart from a few good ones, most of them weren't really to the taste of Chinese people. Li Zhe thought he'd take his sister to other places to buy some snacks later.

Li Zhe then took the three of them to browse around the Friendship Store. All three felt it was a bit expensive and didn't buy anything else.

Li Zhe said, "Mother, it's almost New Year's, aren't you going to buy some new clothes?"

Wang Xiuying whispered, "Second brother, these clothes are all sold to foreigners, they're too expensive. Let's buy them somewhere else."

"That's okay too."

Li Zhe and his family shopped around for a while longer before leaving the Friendship Store.

Wang Jianjun and his driver Liang Weiguo had finished delivering the vegetables and were waiting for them by the roadside.

Li Zhe loaded the groceries onto the truck and had Liang Weiguo drive it to the vicinity of Wangfujing Department Store. He said, "Brother Liang, you and my brother take the groceries home first. We'll go to Quanjude for lunch."

Liang Weiguo said, "Mr. Li, I won't go. I have something to do at home at noon, so I have to go back."

"Is something really wrong? Please don't stand on ceremony."

"If something really happens, we eat from the same pot every day, I'm not being distant with you guys."

"Okay, please give my regards to my family."

Before long, the truck arrived near Wangfujing.

Li Zhe and his three companions got out of the car and walked a short distance before they saw the department store. Wang Xiuying's face lit up with joy. "Hey, this building is really impressive." Then, she added with some concern, "Second brother, are the clothes here expensive? If they are, let's go somewhere cheaper."

Li Zhe laughed and said, "Mom, let's go inside and take a look. We're not just here to buy clothes, we're here to have fun too. If you find something suitable and you like it, then buy it; if you think it's too expensive, then we won't buy it. Tomorrow I'll take you to other places to shop. We have a home in the capital, so let's go sightseeing."

Old Li laughed and said, "Buy whatever clothes you like, I'll pay for them." Old Li receives a monthly salary from his son, so he speaks with more confidence now.

The four of them first browsed the first floor, where Li Zhe and his sister bought a lot of food: candied hawthorn, animal crackers, preserved plum pills, shredded figs, ox tongue biscuits, yogurt, and Beibingyang soda.

Afterwards, Li Zhe took them to visit the clothing section.

Wang Xiuying looked around, touching the red coat on the clothes rack: "Oh my, this coat is so beautiful! The material is also very good."

Old Li waved his hand and said, "If you like it, we'll buy it."

Wang Xiuying glanced at the price and shook her head, "Never mind, the color is a bit too bright."

"Mom, buy whatever you like, I'll pay for it." Li Zhe was afraid his mother wouldn't be willing to spend the money.

Wang Xiuying shook her head, "No. These clothes are too expensive." She couldn't bear to let her son spend too much money. "Second son, your father and I are just old farmers in the village. We work in the fields all day long. It would be a waste for us to buy such nice clothes."

Your sister is still young, so you don't need to buy her anything too expensive. Let's go somewhere else, like a market. Just something prettier than the clothes in our town will do.

Li Zhe thought of the Dongsi Market where he bought clothes last time. "Okay, I'll take you somewhere else this afternoon. I guarantee you'll like it."

The four of them strolled up to the second floor when Li Zhe suddenly remembered something and said with a smile, "Mom, I'll pay for your clothes this afternoon, but before that, you have to do me a favor."

"What's wrong?" Wang Xiuying was a little puzzled, wondering what she could do to help her son.

Li Zhe told his mother about buying the refrigerated display case. When Wang Xiuying heard that the refrigerated display case cost eight thousand yuan, her first thought was that it was too expensive. However, when she heard that her son asked her to help him bargain, she immediately agreed.

She might not be able to speak for others, but she's an expert at bargaining: "Son, tell me, why is that refrigerated display case so expensive? What are the benefits? Are there many buyers? Explain it to me clearly so I can negotiate a better price."

Li Zhe briefly explained the situation of the refrigerated display case.

After listening, Wang Xiuying followed Li Zhe to the counter of the "Snowflake" brand refrigerated display case and started bargaining with the salesperson...

In fact, during this time, Li Zhe had also been looking into refrigerated display cases through other channels. Yesterday, Sun Tao also found out about a refrigerated display case, a Xingxing brand one, which was larger than this Xuehua brand one, about 1.8 meters long, and was priced at 12,000 yuan.

Wang Xiuying was very good at bargaining. After chatting with the shop assistant for a while, she found the mall manager and negotiated a lower price with him.

Of course, simply pushing for lower prices won't work either. Li Zhe would also chime in to check the quality of the refrigerated display case. The refrigerated display case happened to be open today, and the refrigeration effect was quite good.

After negotiating for about twenty minutes, we finally got the price down to 6,800 yuan, with a three-year warranty.

Li Zhe was satisfied with the price and paid a deposit of 2,000 yuan. However, there was no stock available, and the goods would not arrive until after the New Year.

The deal was agreed upon.

Because they were going to buy clothes on Dongsi Street in the afternoon, around 11 a.m., Li Zhe took his parents directly to Quanjude.

Wang Jianjun had already given prior notice, and the group of five went directly to a private room on the second floor.

This was Wang Xiuying and Li Na's first time at Quanjude. Wang Xiuying asked in surprise, "This entire six-story building sells roast duck? It's huge!"

Li Na sniffed hard and swallowed, "Brother, it smells so good here." Old Li, who had eaten at Quanjude once, boasted, "This is nothing. The crispy roast duck skin is the real deal. Little Na, Dad will roll one up for you later. It'll smell so good it'll make your teeth fall out, haha."

There were a lot of people today. Li Zhe not only ordered roast duck but also cold dishes, and Wang Jianjun even brought Moutai from home.

Li Zhe opened the Moutai, poured a glass for Lao Li first, and said with a smile, "Comrade Lao Li, last time we had roast duck together, you said we needed some wine. How about this wine today?"

Old Li held the glass with both hands, as if afraid of spilling the liquor. He sniffed hard and said, "Good, good, this liquor smells wonderful, let alone tastes good."

Wang Xiuying scoffed, "How could such expensive wine not be fragrant?"

Li Zhe raised his glass and proposed, "Come on, let's have a drink."

Li Na also picked up a bottle of Coke, clinked glasses with everyone, and said, "Cheers!"

Old Li picked up his glass, took only a small sip, and the rich aroma of soy sauce filled his nostrils. "Hey, this wine is something else, it's really fragrant!"

Everyone enjoyed the meal and drinks.

After finishing their meal, Li Zhe took his parents to Dongsi Street.

It's the coldest time of the year, but the market on Dongsi Street is still bustling. Shops are displaying banners advertising hot sales, and stalls are lined up one after another. The aisle in the middle is crowded with shoppers.

As soon as Wang Xiuying arrived, she was delighted. "This place is great. Even though the clothes in the department store are expensive, I still prefer to shop in street-side stores like this."

The clothes worn by Wang Xiuying, Lao Li, and Li Na might be acceptable in the countryside, but they would be considered somewhat conspicuous in Beijing.

Looking at the crowded people, Li Zhe whispered a reminder, "Keep an eye on your belongings, don't let anyone steal them." The more crowded the place, the more thieves there are.

Old Li nodded and walked at the very back, mainly to keep an eye on his son, who was dressed the best. If there were any thieves, they would steal from him first.

The shops along the way sold the most women's clothing. He bought a set of clothes for Wang Xiuying first, just like he had done for Li Zhe before. After buying the clothes, Wang Xiuying put on the dark gray fleece-lined coat and asked her husband and children, "How do I look? Do I look okay in it?"

Old Li looked it up and down and laughed, "Good, it looks really good, just as stylish as city people."

Li Zhe laughed and said, "Mom, why don't you stay today? Get your hair done again tomorrow, you'll definitely look even more beautiful."

“Mom, you look so good in this outfit! I want to buy new clothes too! I want to buy new clothes too!” Li Na grabbed her mother’s clothes and teased.

"You silly girl, don't pull it too hard." Wang Xiuying slapped her daughter's hand away and patted the clothes: "I'll buy it for you right now."

Li Zhe then took them to a children's clothing store and bought Li Na a light blue down jacket, fleece-lined jeans, and Warrior shoes.

Li Na, wearing her new clothes, skipped and twirled in front of the three of them, saying, "These clothes are so warm, Dad, Mom, and Brother, do I look pretty in them?"

"nice."

"Beautiful." It has to be said that children do look more energetic when they wear beautiful new clothes.

Finally, we bought clothes for Lao Li. We only bought him a black down jacket and black fleece-lined leather shoes. When he wore them, he looked quite like a retired cadre.

Li Zhe offered to pay for him, but Lao Li refused, insisting on paying himself. He said he wanted to experience what it felt like to spend money.

After buying clothes, Li Zhe took them shopping again, and they bought some daily necessities. When they came out, everyone was carrying large and small bags.

On his way back, he happened to see a yellow minivan, which he flagged down and took home.

In the afternoon, Wang Xiuying took her nephew Wang Jianjun back to Daying Village, leaving Lao Li to stay and keep Li Zhe company.

They ate too much at lunch, so the father and son were too lazy to cook dinner.

Li Zhe brewed a pot of tea and took out the snacks he had bought in the afternoon. The two of them drank tea and chatted.

Li Zhe poured Old Li a cup of tea: "Dad, are there many people in our village who want to follow suit and grow crops in greenhouses?"

“Yes, there are many. At least dozens of people have come to see me.” Old Li peeled a peanut and threw it into his mouth.

“A few dozen households aren’t enough.” Li Zhe told Lao Li about the Beijing Vegetable Company’s offer to cooperate with him.

After hearing this, Old Li was quite surprised: "Damn, such a big company wants to cooperate with us?"

Li Zhe laughed and said, "Don't other people grow out-of-season vegetables either?"

“That makes sense.” Old Li smiled, pondered for a moment, and said, “Second brother, I understand that you plan to teach the villagers how to grow vegetables in greenhouses and sign vegetable purchase agreements with them. But if you then resell those vegetable purchase agreements to the Beijing Vegetable Company, what benefit will we get after all this trouble?”

Li Zhe organized his thoughts and said, "Dad, let me give you an example. For instance, next year I signed vegetable purchase agreements with 100 farmers for 100 vegetable greenhouses, agreeing that the purchase price of cucumbers in November would be three yuan per kilogram."

After that, I will sign a contract with Beijing City Vegetable Company to transfer the cucumber order to Beijing City Vegetable Company in November at a price of three and a half to four yuan per kilogram.

We can make a profit of 50 cents to one dollar per pound of off-season vegetables.

Of course, the order price and the transfer price are not fixed, but as long as the order price increases, the transfer price will also increase, and we can always make a profit from the price difference.

If a greenhouse produces 10,000 jin of vegetables during the contract period, we can make a net profit of 5,000 to 10,000 yuan.

One hundred vegetable greenhouses could generate a profit of 500,000 to 1 million yuan.

Old Li looked shocked: "I understand. Following your model, the more people follow our example and grow vegetables in greenhouses, the more profit they will make."

However, he still had some concerns and couldn't help but ask, "Second brother, does this count as speculation?"

“Of course not,” Li Zhe explained. “We help farmers build vegetable greenhouses, teach them the techniques, and sign purchase agreements to give them guarantees. These benefits are what we deserve.”

"Besides, our company needs to operate, and we need to employ technicians. How can the company run if we don't charge them? Who will teach them how to grow vegetables?" Li Zhe knew what Lao Li was worried about and continued:

“Dad, I’m not going to take just anyone. I’ll still have to screen people. If someone is not sincere or doesn’t know how to be grateful, we won’t teach them.”

(End of this chapter)